A Simple Song
by Finnian4ever
Summary: Sho Finnian has been used as a human lab rat for seven years of his youth. On a cold and hopeless night he weakly sings out a simple song to try and warm his freezing heart...unaware that the words would summon his only hope. (SLIGHT TACTICS REFERENCE AT THE BEGINNING, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO CALL IT A CROSSOVER, BUT IT WAS WHERE I GOT THE IDEA FOR THE KAGUME SONG).
1. Chapter 1

It was cold. It was always cold here. Sho felt he could almost see his breath as it flowed shallowly from between his lips. He was granted a single blanket with which to wrap up, but the thin mat he slept on seemed to seep up the coldness of the stone floor.

This was one of the only rooms in the building without blazing white lights or endless tables lined with medical equipment. A single bulb on one wall encased by a misty blue glass globe was the only light source. On nights like this when the cold kept Sho from sleep he would stare at it. He tried to imagine that it gave off heat of its own, but even the light itself was faint and somehow chilly.

They kept the facility cool to prevent the spread of bacteria, and while Sho was never in danger of freezing, he was never warm. It had been like this for what seemed like an endless span of time. He didn't even know how old he was now. He recalled being close to eleven when he was taken and he could be at least seventeen now for all he knew. Even his own face was no clue to him; he had not seen it since he arrived. Even the glass in the entire building was purposely fogged. Other than a reflection of bright blond hair he knew nothing of his appearance. It was unavoidable that he was slender, almost scrawny, and short for his age, but that did little to give him any sense of identity.

His identity at the moment was a freezing cold boy who just wanted to slip away from the discomfort by falling asleep. Sho curled into a tight ball on the mat, just like every other night, and wept silently to himself. Would he ever be free of this facility? Would there ever be a normal life for him outside? Despite the education he received here, he knew he lacked experience. Though his intelligent mind catalogued all that he was taught, he simply wanted to see the world for himself. He wondered during his brief lessons what their motivation was for teaching him anything if he was just an experiment, just a body to inject with drugs for the 'good of mankind'. Perhaps it had something to do with the drugs designed to help the advancement of the mind. At any rate, he seemed to remember most if not all of what they taught him. He loved geography the best, as the idea of being able to travel away from this place and see all their riches was a dream he clung to desperately. He never let them know, for fear that they might forbid this subject.

He tightened his fist slightly as he lay in the dark, and his eyes drifted as always to that globe of blue light on the wall that was his only splash of color. He shivered but didn't even feel like pulling up the blanket to warm himself. It was as if the discomfort was proof that he really was a human being, not just an lab rat. Human. What did it mean to be human? To laugh, to share, to sing…to sing…Sho remembered a time when he could sing very well. He even performed solos at his village festivals as a boy. This made him remember an instance that occurred earlier that day; one of the doctors stepped out of the room to take a phone call, and in his eagerness he had left the speaker system on in the room. Sho was able to hear the doctor's conversation in the next room. He had been speaking to his young daughter, sounding warm and affectionate just like any other father. What a contrast to the heartless work he did. The child had laughed and told her father that she wanted to sing a song for him. She had, her lovely little voice sounding like an angel to Sho, who had not heard someone sing for years.

Sho had listened intently, learning the song and running the lines over and over in his head to memorize them. Now, wrapped in the safety of night, Sho felt as though he wanted to sing that song. He cleared his throat slightly to himself and quietly tried to sing the first line. His voice came out cracked the first few times he tried, but finally it smoothed out and he was able to sing clearly:

_Kagume, Kagume_

_Crouch little bird inside your cage_

_When, oh when will he get out?_

_Up before the light of dawn_

_Crane and turtle slipped and fell_

_Who is behind you, can you tell?_

He felt the silence like a physical presence when his voice stopped. He grinned inwardly. His voice was still pretty as ever. Rusty, but still pretty. He closed his eyes and shivered as a small gust of cold wind hit him, probably from beneath the crack of the door.

"You called, master?" Sho's eyes flew open at the sound of the voice. The room was so dark, even with the small globe of light, that he could not see who it belonged to. He strained his eyes, but even in his fear he felt too weak to try and sit up. He was certain that the door had not opened…

"Who…who's there?" He asked feebly into the darkness. The shape of a tall man stalked forward from the darkest corner of the room, the blue light doing very little to reveal much more than a regal outline. Sho began to shake, and his mind instantly leapt to the only explanation for this man's presence.

"No…" He said, finding the strength out of pure terror to sit up and draw his knees close to his chest. "They said no more tests after dark! They promised me! Please! No more tests!" The man stopped advancing, and Sho heard him chuckle.

"I am not a doctor, young one. Do not fear me; I'm not going to do anything to you." Unconvinced, Sho's body continued to shake with fear. His pale brows pulled together in disbelief.

"What are you trying to pull? If you're not a doctor then who are you? A ghost?" The man walked slowly over to the globe of light, and touched it with his hand. The light redirected to his face, and Sho's heart leapt as he saw the balanced features; the proud brow, the straight nose, full mouth, and dark eyes.

"No, I am not a ghost." Sho swallowed.

"Then…how did you get in here? You must be in league with them. That's the only explanation." The man began stepping towards him, and Sho drew his legs tighter to himself.

"You look like you could fold yourself in two, you're so thin." The man said softly, kneeling right before his mat and sitting back on his legs.

"What in the world have they been doing to you?" Sho frowned at him.

"Why do you care? You're a stranger. You don't know anything about me."

"Sho Finnian. Age eighteen. Locked up in this facility since age eleven, and experimented on with a variety of different drugs for various reasons." Sho's eyes widened.

"Who… are you?"

"You called me yourself. I am Kagume." Sho's jaw dropped.

"W-what..?"

"You sang the song with true need and humility in your heart. Very few children have the hearts that deserve the service of our kind. I have waited for you to call me ever since you were a child, but you grew up without learning the song to summon me, as most children do. Now I am here, and after our contract is established I shall be your loyal servant."

Sho's mind was too muddled to take all this in, and he just sat there, staring at the creature who claimed to be a Kagume.

"Does your arm hurt?" Kagume asked gently. Sho gave a bitter smile, and painfully turned his arm out to reveal the multitude of red needle marks littering the inside of his elbow.

"What do you think? Lovely aren't they?" Kagume reached out, and Sho stiffened, but knew there was no escape, and so he let the creature take and hold his arm. He was surprised by the gentleness of the touch. He could barely feel Kagume's hands as more than a whisper against his skin.

"You poor thing. No wonder you are dying to get out of here."

"I can't escape. I've tried." Kagume looked up at him, and Sho felt another shiver of fear move through him; his eyes were entirely black. There was no distinction between iris and pupil.

"I can help you, if you order me to. I told you, I am your servant once the contract is established."

Sho gave a small, mirthless laugh.

"You are really a Kagume?"

"Yes." Sho stared at him for a long moment, and finally realized that he did not care if the man was telling the truth or not.

"How do we 'establish this contract'?" He asked weakly. Kagume laid his large palm against the smaller one in his grasp. Sho jumped when he saw light shining between their two hands, glowing like a light bulb, but with no source.

"What are you..?" He asked, but Kagume held his hand for a few more seconds.

"This binds us temporarily until the nightly exchange of blood begins as payment for my services." The light disappeared and when Kagume lifted his palm, Sho saw a strange symbol on his wrist, like a tattoo in pale gold ink. It was a circle, with two symbols that looked like tusks arching into the center. Kagume's own palm now bore the same symbol. Sho lifted Kagume's hand breathlessly up to his face to examine it.

"It's true…you really are…" His breath hitched. "What…what did you mean by 'the exchange of blood'?" Kagume stood up, gently pulling his hand away from Sho's, and looked down at him.

"It is part of the contract; you will offer me a measure of your blood every night to sustain my own body. Without it I cannot serve you, and I will pass back into my spirit-state and be lost to you." Sho's eyes flew open wide.

"What? Blood? My…blood? Are you insane?!" He began shaking, terrible images flashing in his brain. It was all too much, too crazy and sudden. The thought of anything more being done to his body made his heart clench in his chest.

"Master…"

"No, no, no I can't do that! No! Please, leave me alone!" Sho's voice was still not very strong, but it was frantic, and his breathing had sped up to a wheezing pace. Kagume drew back, his face slightly saddened, but resigned.

"I must obey your every wish, master, but should you need me, just call my name and I shall be by your side." Sho gasped as the creature vanished, right into nothingness before his eyes. He sat there for several moments, calming down and trying to force his brain to make some sense of whatever had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

Sho winced as white light flooded his sleepy eyes. He blinked against the brightness of their white coats as they helped him get up from his sleeping mat. Never so much as a 'good morning' from these folks. He stumbled a bit, but fell into step beside them like clockwork as they led him out into the halls. He moaned and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to rub out some of the ache there. Sho could not be sure, but he thought that they had let him sleep in a bit. It felt as though they were starting later in the day than they usually would. He had no way of being sure short of asking someone, which he was not going to do. Yawning and wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Sho followed the two men in lab coats to a small white room which looked just the same as every other room in the facility. He sat there on a metal chair and waited dozily for his breakfast.

Beyond the fog that gathered in his brain, he felt like a memory lingered there, something important that he needed to remember. It was an uncomfortable feeling and Sho tried to brush it off as they placed eggs and toast before him. He could not really complain about the food here; he may have been constantly cold, but they made sure he didn't starve. As he started in on the eggs, he felt clarity dawning on his mind and he suddenly remembered the strange visitor from the previous night. He paused in his eating as the memory flooded back to him. He gulped, thinking of the mark that the Kagume had placed on him. He slowly turned his left hand upward and glanced down at it. He was holding his fork, so he had to put it down under the guise of reaching for his orange juice in order to look at his palm. The mark. His mark. Still imprinted on his flesh in fine gold.

Sho seized his fork once more and began to eat faster, to hide his palm from the doctors who were talking in lowered voices across the room. How was he going to explain it? What in the world was he going to say? He was rapidly running out of food to eat, and when he was finished, he simply closed his hand in a fist. He didn't know what else to do. Luckily they weren't interested in his hands, at least, not in the first test of the morning.

Every day was different here; some days he would fight tooth and nail at every turn, other days he was completely worn out and passive, while others were an uncertain mix of the two. Today seemed to be starting off passive. Sho was tired, he was confused from the night before, and he didn't want anyone to notice his palm. He let them inject him a few times, wincing at the pain in his needle-mark pocked arm, but otherwise he sat still on the cot. A spell of wooziness and burning heat followed for over an hour afterward, and they made him walk up and down the hallways while they wrote on their clipboards. They were always making notes in their clipboards. It took almost two hours before the sick feeling in his stomach made him drop to the floor. They pulled him back onto his feet to try and keep him walking, but he only wretched his breakfast up when they attempted this. His head was spinning and he couldn't speak straight when he tried to beg for his bed. They eventually did let him lie down, all the while hovering around him and taking blood samples, checking his pulse, and flipping his eyelids open occasionally.

Sho just lay there and let them do as they wished, feeling too horrible to move and knowing that they would just bring him back if he did try to get up. He wondered many times why he had not died from these experiments; some didn't seem to affect him at all, while others like this morning's gave him absolutely terrible reactions. He didn't even know what they were testing.

He lost track of time completely as he lay there, and he eventually blacked out. When he woke he was lying on one of the doctors' tables, hooked up to several beeping monitors. He guessed enough time had passed for the effects of the injection to wear off, since his stomach felt normal again. His limbs felt s bit heavy, but other than that he seemed alright. A doctor came over to examine him the moment he opened his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked.

"I'm ok, I guess," Sho answered in a toneless voice. He hated when they spoke to him, because he knew they did not really care, they were just after more symptoms to write down in their notes. Talking was supposed to be an intensely human trait, but here is was little more than a device for gathering information.

"Nausea?"

"Not anymore."

"Dizziness?"

"Just a little, but not too bad."

"How does your body feel?"

"My arms and legs are heavy."

The doctor nodded, and unexpectedly reached down and picked up Sho's left wrist.

"What are you doing?!" Sho asked, a little panicky, trying to pull his arm away.

"Sit still! I'm just checking your pulse." Sho held his breath as the doctor laid two fingers against his wrist and watched the clock on the wall. Sho looked down; there it was, glowing gold on his palm. Any moment now the doctor would ask him what it was, and Sho would have no answer beyond sounding like he had gone insane. What would they do to him then? The doctor dropped his wrist and turned to write something at the table. Sho was confused. Had he not seen it? How was that possible?

"You're going to be on a treadmill next, so prepare yourself for that as best you can."

With these words the doctor turned and left. Sho stared after him, dumbfounded. He had little time to ponder this mystery as three more Coats came in and began unhooking him from the monitors. Sho both hated and loved the treadmill tests. They would inject him with something that seemed to invigorate him with such energy that it needed to be released somehow, and he would get to run on the treadmill until he became weary. It felt like a strange time of freedom, where he could at least pretend that he was running to somewhere. Other times it was just a grueling time of endurance that would nearly break him. If there was one constant he had discovered about this facility, it was that there was no constant. He could never predict how he would feel or perform on any given day.

They led him to one of the larger rooms in the facility, where they kept the treadmill. There was a large panel room set behind a large glass wall on one side of the large space, and there were always a dozen or so doctors and nurses observing him during these tests. He had no idea (as always) what they were testing on him, but he guessed that this must have been a very important trial, as he had been doing this everyday for almost a month, and there were always a great number of viewers.

He was again hooked up to a set of monitors when they stood him on the treadmill, nurses pushing buttons and scribbling information in files, making all the preparations for the test. While it was hard to gauge their mood because they were normally so set in their work, Sho sensed that something was different today. There was much more whispering, many more bright eyes, and he even heard one of the nurses comment, '_it's today or never; it's the last of the series_…' Sho had been here long enough to know that a 'series' meant a number of injections given consistently over a period of time. Every Tuesday and Friday in the afternoon he was given the same injection and placed in a dark room to see if his eyes had been heightened. So far the experience just frightened him.

Sho noted the excited demeanor in those gathered behind the glass too. There seemed to be a table set up with drinks and what looked to be a bottle of champagne. Sho didn't have much time to observe, as they began cleaning his arm for the injection. It stung like hell, as the alcohol coated the old injection sites, but Sho just grit his teeth and breathed through his nose. Sometimes the alcohol was worse than the actual needle. He reassessed this opinion as they forced a very large needle into his vein. It was bigger than the others they used during this test.

"Just stand still for a few moments, and we'll tell you went to begin." The nurse told him, a hint of excitement coloring her usual cold, professional tone. Sho began to feel suspicious. What had them all so eager today for this particular test? The rush of energy hit him much slower than it usually did, starting in his core and spreading to his limbs. It took several moments for the sullen spark of vigor to encompass his entire body, but even then it was not the same as the other times.

"Muscle expansion beginning, slowly." The nurse announced, most likely to those watching behind the glass. This was part of the routine, having every little thing his body did spoken. "Go ahead and begin walking quickly." She told him. He did so, wondering why today was so different.

The test stretched out longer than it ever had before, because unlike the normal burst of strength he would normally feel, it built up in him slowly over the course of almost an hour. Finally he felt all weariness or discomfort in his legs disappear, and the nurse suddenly, excitedly, told him to run as fast as he was able. Sho obeyed. It was miraculous. It was as if he had grown new legs that were used to sprinting in a marathon every day. His feet flew along the treadmill like a blur, and he felt the wind that he was creating himself blow up through his legs. He was running faster than he ever had in his entire life, and he had no idea how. He could not help but give a strangle chuckling laugh out of pure surprise.

"Muscle density increasing rapidly, trial is successful." The nurse nearly had to yell the words over the pounding of Sho's feet. Sho glanced toward the glass, and saw the bottle of champagne being uncorked, all the doctors laughing and slapping each other on the back.

Like a flash of madness, an idea came to him. He felt his arms growing stronger too, as they pumped along at his sides, and he suddenly understood. They had been testing a drug to see if they could enhance a person's strength and performance, and now it had worked. In that case…what if…The second the idea came to him he suddenly shot forward without his consent, the speed of his legs suddenly much faster than he could control. He darted forward, breaking right through the plastic monitor of the treadmill and smashed right into the opposite wall. He blanked out for a few seconds before he realized what he had done. He was sprawled in a hallway…on the other side of the wall. A giant hole was crumbling right on top of him, and he realized that he had broken it. He stared, dazed, unable to fathom that he had actually managed to do something so immense. His limbs were shaking, as though they were overflowing with power, and he found he could not sit still there on the ground. He jumped right to his feet, briefly catching sight of a dozen or so stunned faces staring back at him from the room before he turned and ran.

It was like he was in a different world; rooms and people flew by him like he was riding on a train so fast was he able to run. He couldn't believe it. This was his chance. This moment right here. He could escape. He had no time to think beyond that, no chance to really consider anything more than the bright hope that surged through him. He didn't even know how many hallways he ran through or staircases he climbed, or doctors and nurses he scattered on the way. He didn't even know how long it took, all he knew was that he couldn't run fast enough, even as he sped through the facility like a bullet.

Several times security tried to block him, having been warned no doubt about his rampage, but even with the tranquilizers that they shot at him, he managed to get away. Finally, after blindly racing through hallway after hallway, Sho rounded a corner into a giant lobby. It was lined with pillars like a grand hall, and there were tall glass windows on either side. The floor was a cold marble, and there were giant stone steps leading up to several sets of doors. The way out. Sho knew this was the way out.

A few men and women, all in professional dress rather than lab coats, were dotted about the large open space, and all turned to stare at him as he shot forward. None of them had time to even know how to react. Sho ran up the stone steps, feeling the cool invitation of fresh air growing stronger with every step. A sort of frenzy took him over now that there was an exit before him. He had to get out into the air. He had to feel the grass beneath his bare feet, he had to get out, get out, get outside…

He kicked the door down with all his might, hearing a chorus of gasps and even a scream behind him. He was struck by a gust of freezing cold wind. It stopped him in his tracks for a split second, and he stood there shaking violently, eyes taking in the brilliant sunset across an open field, which was bordered on one side by the dark fringe of woods.

In that single instant he was filled with joy. He had not been outside and seen such beauty in so many years…the next instant he was running again, toward the woods, faster than any other human on the planet could run. Sho couldn't believe he'd managed it; he had been trying to leave this facility for the last seven years, and now he was finally running, running, running as fast as his artificially strengthened legs would take him, the earth kicking up in clods behind him.

He refused to look over his shoulder until he had been running several moments. Then he chanced a glance backward, and saw no sign of the facility's ugly grey face. Only trees and fields stretched out behind him like a scroll being unrolled with every step he ran. The fear of recapture began to diminish and in its place came a rush of joy.

He turned again to face the path he was carving with his own two feet, and he felt tears coming to his eyes, a ludicrous smile spreading on his face. He began laughing like a madman, and then he whooped out loud and leapt as he ran, He laughed and cried and repeated, unsure of where he was going. All he knew was that he was outside, and the fresh air was hitting him like the promise of a new life. It was sweet and fresh and freezing cold. He did not care that it was frozen ground that he kicked up with his heels; everything he saw delighted him, for he was truly seeing the world for the first time since he was a child.

All thought of where he would go and what he would do was absent from him at this time; he was simply free, and that was all he knew.


	3. Chapter 3

(**Funny note of truth**: this entire story came out of a P90X workout that I did, which left my entire core and arms and legs aching like hell. Literally, I was lying on the floor of my dorm room when my roommate was out, (because I was too sore to climb up into my top bunk), and the following scene in the woods came to me. After that it was just a matter of actually acting out the scene since I was already feeling the part of Sho (Finny) lol. So yea, that's how this entire story started: thanks P90X!)

))))))))))

The sun sank quickly as Sho moved along through the woods. The darkness limited how fast he could go, and he more than once almost ran headlong into trunks of trees. He may have been fast, but he was not used to it yet. A few times he had no time to react, and ended up smashing entire trees to the ground. Even this would make him laugh; he was still caught up in the joy of his newfound freedom. Sho knew he had made good time, and he had been clever enough to stop running to his full potential, as he had noticed that he had been leaving a trail behind him shortly after recovering from his state of total oblivion. That state still lingered on the edge of his conscious mind, but he was now in the mode of staying hidden. His trail could easily be used to track him, so over a course of time he slowed down as much as he could in increments, a little fearful of what would happen when he stopped completely. As he gradually slowed his pace, however, the trembling in his body did not make itself known again. Whatever had surged through him to give him this strength, it have obviously calmed down and was now established in his body.

While the light was fading, a slow cold drizzle had begun to fall from the cloudy sky, eventually blotting out the sun entirely before it had fully sunk. While the rain was very cold, Sho felt it as a refreshing gift, and he even opened his mouth to receive a drop here or there.

Sho's legs began to ache. He knew he had covered an impressive amount of distance, but his legs were paying for it. Despite all the tests at the facility, he had never run so hard for so long, ever. He moved slower and slower, eventually falling into a jog, then a walk, and then a stumble.

His special legs finally folded beneath him and he hit the damp earth with a dull thump. Even though his entire body was aching, he smiled up at the freezing cold rain pelting his body and making him shiver, as if it was the greatest experience of his life. He watched his own breath shoot up into the air above him in a frosty stream, and then billow into a cloud and disappear.

He did not have to lay there for long before even the euphoria of the rain had been beaten down by the chill in his now still muscles and he was shivering in earnest. The multitude of needle marks on the inside of his right arm pained him in light of the rain, and he turned his head to look at them. As he did this he caught sight of the mark left on his wrist by the Kagume.

The thrill of his escape had wiped all memory of it from his brain for a time. Now all the questions came flooding back. Was he really bound to serve him? Had his miserable situation really summoned a Kagume to be his servant? Just looking at the mark told Sho that the encounter was not of his own mind, and that Kagume was real.

"_Just call my name and I shall be by your side._" Sho remembered the words as he stared at his wrist, watching it twitch and tremble from cold. He sincerely wanted to be warm now. What harm could it do to at least test to see what would happen? He took a deep breath of icy air.

"Kagume..?" He whispered slowly, hardly daring to hope. A split second passed before a small gust of wind hit his back, causing him to shudder, and he heard footsteps squelching softly in the wet ground. He stiffened as they came closer…it couldn't be…

"Well, master, I see you need me enough to call on me after all." Sho started, and his eyes popped open against the rain to see the dark outline of a face to hovering over him in the dim light.

"Y-y-you c-c-came…you actually c-c-came!" Sho chattered, his eyes widening in amazement. Kagume made a small sound that may have been a chuckle, and he stood back to remove his long coat. He knelt and spread it over Sho's chest. It was still warm from his body, and covered him completely from shoulder to ankle.

"I am your loyal servant, master. I will come anytime you call." The smooth voice assured him, a large warm hand patting his head softly. Sho made to sit up, but a dreadful pain in his side stopped him. He yelped and fell back onto his other side.

"Master?" Kagume asked, concern in his voice.

"I've a…terrible cramp." Sho said, weary arms coming to wrap around his waist.

"What do you want me to do, my master?" Sho looked up into those black eyes, and saw nothing but calm reassurance. It was as if the cold had no effect on him, like nothing earthly could sway him. Sho had never given an order before in his life, unless begging for mercy was considered an order.

Kagume seemed to sense his inward struggle and tried to prompt the request that they both knew Sho had to make.

"You can't want to spend all night out here in this freezing rain. I daresay you already have a cold." Sho shook his head, wincing as the cramp restrained his movements.

"No I shouldn't stay out here I guess.." Seeing that he still needed further urging, Kagume offered,

"Where do you want me to take you?" Sho finally gave his halting request,

"Um…can you…take me somewhere…warm?" Kagume smiled.

"My pleasure, master." With this Kagume carefully slung Sho's arms around his neck and lifted him from the ground, still wrapped in his coat. Sho stiffened; no one had carried him bodily for a long time, at least, not one person. He was used to being dragged to the labs sometimes by three or four men, but never had someone lifted him with care since he was small.

"Just close your eyes and lay your head against me." Sho did so, hesitantly, but with the warmth radiating from Kagume's body, he found it was easier to trust him.

"I must beg your extreme trust, master. I am going to fly now." Sho thought for sure that he had heard wrong.

"Fly?" He asked.

"Yes. It may feel strange at first, but I assure you I will keep you perfectly safe." Sho felt he had little choice, but he tightened his grip around Kagume's shoulders.

Kagume's entire body dipped low, and with a great surge of muscles he shot upward into the air. Sho felt his stomach plummet and his heart rise, and he stiffened in terror when they continued to rise rather than falling back to the earth. He heard a swishing sound and something soft hit his face a few times. He chanced a quick glance upward, and saw that two black wings had sprouted from Kagume's back, and now they were spread out against the darkening evening sky, catching the breeze and taking them higher. Feathers…feathers had brushed against his cheeks. Sho closed his eyes quickly and buried his face in Kagume's neck, his body still stiff with their ascent. He felt the vibrations of Kagume's chuckle.

"Young one, I know it is difficult to ask of you at this stage, but please try to relax. If you do not make some attempt to ease your limbs you will be even sorer than you are now."

Sho didn't think he could ever relax in this situation, but after a moment had passed along with his innate human instinct against flying, he found that he _had_ to relax or he thought the pain would crack his bones. Instantly he let himself go limp, and it felt so good in comparison, though he still hurt.

"That's better, young master. Just trust me." After several more minutes Sho felt up to asking,

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Somewhere warm, as per your request."

"Thank you…but…I meant…how long until we get there? Not that I'm complaining or anything." Sho believed he could feel Kagume's smile against his face.

"Of course not, my young master. We have a ways to go to reach the destination that would best suit you." Sho had no idea what this meant, but he remained quiet, feeling too tired to even care and knowing that he would find out eventually. The rain ceased as they continued flying, and without it pattering against him Sho was able to enjoy the flight. He intended to stay awake, but somehow he found himself dozing off. It was all like a dream, with the steady beating sound of Kagume's wings, and the blackness of the night sky enfolding them, stars peeking out...and Kagume's heartbeat against his hand…

Sho woke when he felt himself once more standing on his feet. His eyes fluttered open and he saw gold. Strong arms were holding him upright against a sturdy body.

"You're awake?" Kagume's voice, echoing through the unfolding mists of his brain…

"What…" He blinked a few times and his eyes finally focused on his surroundings. The gold that he had seen was a blazing fire. It was made up on a huge hearth, with great stones forming the chimney up one wall. The heat that came from it was a blessing.

Sho turned his head and saw that they were in a modern log cabin, but two of the four walls he could see held such huge windows that it looked like there were no walls at all. The wooden walls were highly polished and the firelight danced off them. He could see the light of the moon bathing the woods outside. The rain had been here too, but passed with only the droplets glowing on the window-walls to tell of its presence.

"Oh…this…" Was all Sho could manage.

"Does it suffice, young master?" Sho felt tears in his eyes.

"It's the most beautiful place in the world." He whispered. Kagume's hands patted his chest gently where they held him.

"I am pleased that I could meet your wishes. I assumed you would not want to feel closed in after all those years being surrounded by walls. Now, I need to get you out of these wet clothes."

Sho's torn medical shirt was pulled up over his head, and he winced as his aching arms were raised with it and then dropped down by his damp sides. He shuddered.

"Can you stand on your own for a moment?" Kagume asked him. He nodded, though in reality he was unsure. He felt the support leave his back, and he rocked slightly on his feet.

"I'm ok." He said before Kagume had a chance to ask. He heard a small chuckle, which caused him to smile slightly as well while Kagume knelt before him and slid the torn trousers down his legs. He shivered again as the damp garment left a chill on his skin.

Kagume's arms were back at once, wrapping him in a huge towel and beginning to rub him vigorously with it from his legs up to his waist and then his chest and shoulders. For some reason this caused Sho to shiver even more.

"You were very foolish to have waited so long to call me." Kagume said softly. "But it is not my place to speak so to you."

"You're right, though." Sho shivered. He could care less, he was enjoying this too much. No one had ever taken care of him like this….at least not in the last seven years.

"Thank you, for doing this. I think I would've…I don't know…Something terrible would have happened to me if you hadn't come." Kagume produced another towel and began drying his hair.

"It is what I live for now; to serve you." Sho's heart skipped a beat. There was something about those words that excited him, He had never had a servant before and something about the idea of having someone, anyone beside him to take care of him…was so pleasant. He felt tears welling in his eyes yet again and he raised an aching arm to swipe at them.

"My young master?" Kagume's voice was soft, nonintrusive.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." Kagume left the towel on his head and knelt again.

"Put your hands on my shoulders to balance yourself." He said, presenting a pair of sleep shorts. Sho did so as he lifted one leg and then the other and Kagume slid them up his legs. He felt like he was three years old again.

"Where in the world did you get these?" He asked.

"This is a summer cabin belonging to an aristocratic family. Even in the off-season it is supplied to meet their every need." Sho's eyes widened.

"But what if they come here?"

"Not to worry, my lord." Kagume led him to the chair before the fire. "It is at least two day's journey from the nearest town to here, and as I said, it is off-season. We will not be disturbed, and the family will be none the wiser." Kagume sat him down in a deep cushioned chair. It felt so good to sit down; despite the heavy ache in his limbs that called him to the bed he had spotted in the middle of the room. He let the towel drop from his shoulders, so as to feel the heat of the fire on his bare skin. It was incredible. He had never sat by a fire shirtless, and certainly never after an ordeal like that day's. Kagume appeared with a shirt, and made to slip it over his head. Sho made a small sound.

"Um…" He paused.

"Yes?"

"I…I don't really want a shirt…the fire…feels so nice."

"As you wish." Kagume put the shirt aside, "as the fire will soon warm the entire room I see no threat to your cold being worsened even if you sleep shirtless in bed." He moved to stand behind Sho's chair. His long fingers rested gently on his tired shoulders and began to knead the sore muscles.

"I know you're tired and you want to lie down, but bear with it a bit and this will help you, so just relax." The pressure of his fingers increased slowly and he worked at the muscles. Sho winced at first with the pain.

"Would you like me to stop, master?" Kagume asked. Sho shook his head.

"No, it's alright."

"Tell me if it's too painful." As the massage continued, Sho eventually began to feel very good. He groaned suddenly as Kagume focused on the nape of his neck, the place where all of his tension gathered at the end of the day. It had always been that way, but he had never had anyone work at the knot before.

"Young master?" Kagume stopped when he heard the sound.

"I'm fine…Please…right there…" Sho said, now eager for the stimulation. After several long moments of this, the silence interrupted almost rhythmically by Sho's groans and grunts, Kagume said,

"I'm going to do something now that might seem a bit strange, but trust me."

"Alright, just don't…"

"Don't what?" Sho hesitated.

"It's silly…"

"Nonsense, What do you want?"

"Just don't hurt me." Kagume's heart softened at this.

"Never, my master." At this Sho felt Kagume's fingers cease to massage and they made one soft, deliberate skirting across his skin, outward from between his shoulder blades, before sliding down his upper arms and gently curling around them, holding him very lightly. Then soft lips brushed against his skin, right at the base of his neck, where his hair began. He jumped a little, and paid for the action with a pain in his back.

"Just relax." Kagume reassured him. Sho considered briefly how many times in this one evening this man had told him to relax, be calm, and trust him. It had been so many years since anyone had said any of that to him. This thought grew as those lips continued to caress him, from one shoulder to the other, and all the space between. He could feel Kagume's hot breath every now and again drifting from those lips. It was the most amazing and intimate thing anyone had ever done to him. Sho shivered at the petal-soft contact as it dusted his skin for long moments.

"This…this _is_ nice." He said very softly. "Thank you." The lips stopped briefly, and one hand glided up his arm to run little circles over a spot between his neck and the back of his right shoulder.

"I am glad that you enjoy it, young master. With your permission I am going to continue." Sho nodded, but for some reason a small chill ran up his spine. As if sensing it, Kagume's other hand lifted from his arm and ran down the length of his back, soothing the chill away with alarming accuracy.

"What I am going to do next may seem strange, but I'll ask you to just sit very still and let me do it; it will help you to sleep, I promise." Both of Kagume's hands rose up; one cupped the left side of his neck, the other continued rubbing the same spot it had been. When it finally stopped, Sho found his heart was pounding as though with anticipation. His body was more at ease and calm than it had been in years, but his mind awoke from its stupor for some reason. It was as if another sense came to him, and made his mind tense. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when he felt Kagume's tongue against that spot, gently smoothing over the skin. Again, chills ran up and down his spine. And again, as if sensing it, Kagume's left hand slid down from its hold on the side of his neck and chased the chill away. This time it continued doing this as Kagume licked him over and over. Finally, the hand slid all the way up and around to press gently on Sho's chest, as Kagume laid his mouth tight to the moistened spot and began to suck. Sho was thoroughly confused, but that extra sense that seemed to have awoken in him assured him that whatever this was, it was nothing to be feared. So he relaxed into that strange new sensation, releasing the tension he had not realized had managed to gather in his shoulders.

It was almost a full minute later that Kagume ceased his suckling. Sho heard him release with a very tiny breath. He felt a few puffs of that breath, then the tongue going over the spot like before, and then it withdrew.

"There now." Kagume said, and Sho thought his voice sounded somehow softer and kinder even than before. "You shall sleep very well." Sho found that his words were true; the weakness of his body seemed to have increased rapidly as he had been sitting there, and he found he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep. He yawned.

"Yes, please." Kagume carried him to the bed and tucked him in. Sho marveled at the softness and deepness of the covers.

"This is 'mazing…" He murmured as he rolled his head deeper into the pillow. The mattress dipped as Kagume sat beside him.

"You finally look so relaxed." he said, inching closer and threading his fingers through Sho's hair. Sho felt a small hum escaping his throat, and Kagume continued to touch his face.

"I'll bet you haven't had a proper place to lay your head for the night in ages."

"No…" Sho said softly, "for the last seven years all I've had is a tiny mat in a room of stone." Kagume's face softened as the real meaning of Sho's words sunk in.

"It must have been cold." He whispered, rubbing Sho's upper arm gently. Sho shivered, as if the very word _cold_ had touched him physically.

"Yes." He barely breathed the words, "so very….very cold…"

)))))))))))))))))))

Kagume looked down at the exhausted face of his human. What a unique master he had acquired. There were many cases of the humans becoming prideful and arrogant over their new Kagume servants. Only one course of action was available to the Kagume who was displeased with how his master treated him; he could kill his master, but then he would have to pay the price, and few Kagume were ever willing to do that. Kagume had worried about what his own master would be like when he was called upon, as he had seen his brethren suffer at times. But he was blessed with a master who possessed a humble and sweet nature. Kagume hoped that this was not only temporary because of his broken state.

He leaned down and kissed the soft cheek of the sleeping boy, feeling the need to touch him. What a delicious taste he had…Kagume was well aware of his master's fear of the contract, and the payment. Though the subject had not been brought up since Sho had summoned him again, Kagume knew that doing so would be a bad idea on this night. But regardless, the payment had be made. He knew that there was no possible way he could introduce the method of payment with his master in this condition, and so he decided to be smooth about it and take it without his knowledge.

He had been amazed that Sho had been so trusting as to let him kiss his body in such a way. He was completely unaware that Kagume was numbing him up with his saliva, so that when he let out his fangs and pierced that tender flesh he would feel no pain. Kagume was worried that Sho might think he was giving him a love mark and stop him right as he tasted his blood for the first time. But that had not been the case. His fangs had slid in with no reaction on Sho's part, and he had drunk of him with bliss. He was delicious, the most amazing blood Kagume had ever tasted. And it was his to feast on until the end of Sho's life. This was the blood of a worthy soul; someone who was tormented year after year but whose spirit was never broken, a soul who was sweet and shy but harbored anger fierce enough to dry the sea. As tempting as it had been, Kagume had known he could not make much of a meal out of him tonight; he was too weak and could not afford too much blood loss. So he had stopped after only a few long seconds. He had smiled triumphantly at the sight of the two red puncture marks adorning that white skin. He had licked his mouth slowly and then the wounds, watching them close. As strange as he knew it would sound, he had thought to himself,

"_Mine." _


End file.
